Complicated scratch-off ticket keeps $1M secret for two days

A Michigan woman said it took her two days to realize her complicated scratch-off lottery ticket was a $1 million winner. Photo courtesy of the Michigan Lottery

June 21 (UPI) -- A Michigan woman who scratched off a particularly complicated lottery ticket said it took her two days to realize she had won $1 million.

The 60-year-old St. Clair County woman told Michigan Lottery officials she bought a Super Bonus Cashword ticket at a Speedway gas station in Port Huron and took it home to scratch it off.

"When I scratched the ticket off, I thought I had won $500," the woman said. "I went back to the Speedway to get paid and they told me they weren't able to cash it. I took the ticket back home and found two more words, which would have been $5,000."

She said she took a third look at the crossword-style ticket the following day and made a surprise discovery.

"The next day after I got home from work, I decided to go over the ticket one more time. That's when I found the word 'raid.' I thought: 'This can't be real!' So, I called the Lottery and when the woman on the phone confirmed I'd won $1 million, I started shaking so much I dropped the phone," she said.

The woman visited lottery headquarters Wednesday and chose to take her money as a $634,000 lump sum payment. She said she plans to use her windfall to pay off her debts and travel.